You like me? Really?
by aemelia113
Summary: Chat notices Marinette making fun of him behind his back during the Evillustrator incident, and he's convinced that Marinette doesn't like either side of him till she stands up for his alter ego in class, which gives him hope that maybe she doesn't hate him after all. It's really hard to flirt during akuma attacks, but he'll manage. Maybe there's a spark there after all. Oneshot.


A/N: Hello, gentle readers! Prepare for an onslaught of Marichat fluff. I've decided to post a bunch of un-beta'd works from my files, so here you go! Disclaimer: I don't own ML or any associated characters. Secondary disclaimer: I'm such trash for this ship and I'm sorry that basically everything I post is about it. I sincerely apologize, but they're just such fun to write! I'm enamored of the idea that they have movie nights in her room and are basically best friends. Also, did I mention I'm weak for Marinette yelling at people for thinking Chat is anything less than Ladybug's partner? Because I am. Onwards and upwards!

Chat saw Marinette mocking him behind his back, and though he never stopped smiling and flexing, the showboating was half-hearted.

When he arrived home and detransformed, Plagg was uncharacteristically silent instead of moaning for camembert, having picked up on his Chosen's gloom. The boy in question slumped into his desk chair and rested his chin on his folded arms, heaving a discontented sigh.

"Adrien?" he prompted, butting his fuzzy little head up against the boy's cheek. "What's the matter? We beat the akuma and saved your friend from class. You even got to see Ladybug after all, even though she said she'd be busy. Ordinarily, you'd be over the moon."

"I know," he grumbled. "It's just... Marinette was making fun of me behind my back even though she acted all swoon-y when she knew I was looking. I don't- I don't think she likes me much. Either of me"

"Kid, what are you talking about?"

"When I'm Adrien, she stutters and runs away from every conversation! I thought she'd forgiven me for the gum thing, but maybe she still doesn't think she can trust me. She seems almost afraid of me any time I try to be nice, like she suspects an ulterior motive or something, waiting for the other shoe to drop," he moaned. "And now that I've met her as Chat, she makes fun of me when she doesn't think I can see and does an exaggerated fangirl act when she knows I can. And when we were escaping from that box, she yanked my arm off her waist like it had burned her. She didn't even want to _touch_ me, Plagg and I just-"

He broke off, sniffling, to wipe his hand across his eyes. Plagg did his best to give the poor kid a hug with his tiny paws, stroking his forehead.

"I've never had a group of friends before, and I really wanted things to work with Marinette," he continued. "She seems so funny and nice and brilliant whenever she's not talking to me, and I wanted to get to know her, but now I know that she doesn't want to know me. Either side of me."

"Kid, I'm sure that's not true," Plagg insisted, hovering in front of his face and trying to make eye contact. When his Chosen's eyes kept skirting past his gaze, Plagg hissed sharply, " _Adrien Bartholomew Agreste_."

The use of his actual full name made him snap to attention, holding his Kwami's stare.

"Hey, she just hasn't had a chance to see how great you are," the tiny god spoke softly and sincerely. "Give it time, and give her a chance. She'd have to have zero taste not to warm up to you eventually. She's probably just intimidated by your fame and unimpressed with the whole 'flirty showoff tomcat' bit you do. It doesn't work on Ladybug, after all."

"That's a fair point," he conceded slowly. "You may be right."

"I'm always right," Plagg scoffed. "Now come on. Giving me some cheese is the perfect way to cheer up!"

"Is it now?"

"Yup. Pretty sure I read in one of your boring science journals that caring for others when you're down helps boost your own mood. And there is nothing more caring than feeding me, your loyal and devoted Kwami who tirelessly helps you do superhero stuff and gives amazing advice," he hummed, preening.

"You're lucky you're cute," Adrien chuckled, forking over the requested smelly item.

"Hmmph. I am a being of unknowable cosmic destructive power," he harrumphed. "I am not _cute_."

"Do you want the cheese or not, fuzzball?"

"Cheese," he mumbled through a mouthful of the foul-smelling stuff.

"That's what I thought."

Despite Plagg's pep talk, it didn't seem like Marinette had warmed up to either persona at all in the weeks following that incident. Adrien did his best not to let it get him down, but he really was sad that the aspiring designer didn't seem to like him much. However, any doubts he may have had about her approval of at least one of his identities flew out the window because of Chloe Bourgeois, of all people.

She made some snide comment about Chat being second fiddle to Ladybug and how she'd be better off without him getting in the way and Marinette _flipped the hell out_. She tore Chloe to pieces verbally, spitting mad and so intensely furious that Alya had to haul her backwards by the waist to keep her from lunging at Chloe to jab her in the chest as she ranted.

Marinette struggled against her best friend's hold as she concluded, "And that's why Chat Noir is one of the bravest, most selfless, most wonderful human beings I have ever met, and why you aren't allowed to say a bad word against him, you conceited, thoughtless _brat_. Don't you dare disrespect him again because when I hear about it, I will choke you with your own tacky jewelry."

"Okay, _fine_ ," Chloe huffed, voice shaking despite the bravado and carefully unaffected hair-flipping, "I'm sorry. Just- maybe the next time someone says something you disagree with, don't get so _violent_. Jeez. You don't even know Chat Noir. You didn't have to go crazy."

Marinette coughed awkwardly, seeming to only just now realize how _loudly_ she'd been shouting. "Ahem. Yes, sorry. Got a bit carried away. But I meant every word. Chat Noir is fantastic, and he and Ladybug are a team. Nothing less."

"But maybe something more," Alya chimed in with a waggle of her eyebrows, desperate to change the subject a little, and to one of her favorite topics, no less. "The Ladynoir tag on the blog has a lot of good material."

"Pfft," Marinette scoffed, rolling her eyes. "They're just partners. Chat's flirting doesn't mean anything. Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy and everything, but he's just teasing. It's all in good fun, nothing serious."

"And how would you know?" Alya retorted, a gleam in her eye.

"Chat flirts with _lots_ of girls. He just likes the giggling and the heart eyes."

"I've never seen him flirt with anyone besides Ladybug," Alya defended. "And I follow the Lucky Duo so closely that if they were anyone but superheroes, it'd probably be stalking"

"Please," Marinette chuckled. "You just haven't been paying attention because you ship them so much. He flirted with _me_ , after all."

The class went silent, all eyes trained with laser focus on their pigtailed classmate. She noticed, shoulders hunching defensively. When no one spoke for a whole minute, she lost her patience.

" _What_?" Marinette cried, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"When did Chat Noir flirt with you?"

"During the whole Evillustrator thing, when I had a sort-of-date with an akuma," she explained, waving a hand dismissively. "Chat protected me solo because Ladybug was busy. We met, we talked, he showed off and winked and kissed my hand and called me Princess and I pretended to be a lovestruck fan because he deserves a little more attention. He touched my shoulder, tried to put an arm around my waist, did cheesy pick-up lines and puns. The whole nine yards. So you see? Flirting is just his personality."

Everyone was quiet.

"Marinette, I think Chat has a crush on you," Rose declared, beaming.

"What? No," she spluttered. "That makes no sense."

"Girl, the evidence is all right there," Nino snickered. "He called you _Princess_ , for crying out loud."

"That's my point!" She crossed her arms and smirked triumphantly. "He was flirting with _me_ , so that must mean he flirts with anyone, so it didn't mean anything."

There was yet another silence, this one accompanied by pitying looks.

Marinette bit her lip and uncrossed her arms, fidgeting with her hands before settling them on her hips and resuming her exasperated look. "Oh, don't look at me like I'm a kicked puppy, jeez," she muttered. "I have self-esteem. If it was any other guy, I'd assume it was real, but Chat Noir? I mean, think about it. If you know _Ladybug_ and you know _me_ , you're not gonna flirt with me if you mean it. She's a freaking superhero and I'm just Marinette. I'm pretty good and all, but it's no competition if we're being honest."

Some people were nodding thoughtfully, but others still didn't look convinced. Adrien cycled through a lot of expressions before settling on a combination of overwhelmed and pensive. This changed things. Marinette clearly thought the world of Chat Noir, which made his heart thud harder and faster as warm feelings welled in his chest. However, she was under the impression that he was some sort of incorrigible flirt, which was less good. Did Ladybug think that, too? Was that why she always pushed him away?

But Ladybug wasn't the focus right now, he reminded himself. Why would Marinette assume that he wouldn't flirt with her? True, he hadn't really meant to. He was just desperate for some reassurance that she liked him, and he hammed it up a bit to try and win her favor. But she was really pretty, and kind, and sharp-witted... He could see himself falling for her. Even if he hadn't really been trying to flirt, he did mean to woo her a little. Maybe a lot.

... okay, maybe he'd been flirting a little.

But what to do about this new realization that Marinette hadn't meant anything by her teasing? He couldn't just drop by her balcony unannounced and say he'd heard this conversation at school. That would veer into "threat to secret identity" territory, not to mention would be more than a little creepy and stalker-y. But he couldn't just "casually bump into her" either. He had no good reason to just be wandering by and drop in for a chat. So he was back to creepy and invasive again, if slightly less so than just popping up at her bedroom.

Adrien was provided with a good solution to this conundrum a mere three days later, when the school tournament for the video game competition resulted in Marinette being targeted by another akuma. He'd been trying to talk to her as Adrien since they were partners, and it had been going- well, not great, exactly- but better than normal. She had given him her lucky bracelet and now they were enjoying some mini quiches in the park across the street from her house.

"Sorry about my parents," she mumbled after a stint of silence. "They can be... nosy."

"Are you kidding?" he gushed around a mouthful of tasty treat. "I'd give my left arm to have my dad constantly trying to feed me and wondering what I'm up to with a friend in my room. Your parents are the _best_."

She blinked and he swallowed the urge to backpedal. He hadn't meant to be that honest, but he'd look even more pathetic if he tried to cover up his slip of the tongue. But Marinette just beamed at him.

"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty lucky," she agreed. "I forget sometimes when I get exasperated with how they're always checking on me, but it just means they love me. I shouldn't complain so much."

He shrugged, internally fist pumping because this was the most normal conversation he'd had with this girl. "Don't worry about it. It is good to have a little time to yourself, and I can see how their habit of popping into your room unannounced would get on your nerves every now and again. I think everybody our age complains about their parents at least a little."

"Yeah," she agreed again before they once again lapsed into quiet.

Adrien opened his mouth to try and save this really nice moment they were having before it slipped away, not really knowing what would come out of his mouth, but longing to hold onto this easy flow of words they were having for once. However, he never got the chance because a robotic voice screamed out his friend's name before he could get a word out.

They were separated as he tried to get her as far from the deletion beams as possible, and even though it made him anxious, it was for the best so he could get away to transform. He'd be a lot more helpful at bad guy fighting as Chat Noir.

He leapt back into the fray just in time to whisk a fallen Marinette out of the path of danger, and it made his heart soar when she reached up instinctively to hold him as he sprinted at her with arms outstretched. She clung to him tightly as he ran, and he was able to pour on the speed because he felt ten times lighter knowing she didn't hate to touch him.

He set her on her feet gently and gave her a cheshire grin before sweeping into a bow and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Delighted that she didn't lean away this time, he purred, "We have to stop meeting like this, Princess."

She rolled her eyes but smiled fondly down at the kneeling superhero. "When else am I going to see you except when akumas attack, silly cat?"

"Any time you want to," he blurted, cheeks flaming.

"Really?" she asked, eyebrow raised. "You'd just, like, come over on a normal Tuesday afternoon and eat snacks and hang out like a regular teenager, except in a leather catsuit?"

"That sounds amazing, actually," he sighed.

Marinette looked puzzled, then opened her mouth to tell him something, but whatever it was was changed at the last minute to "Look out!"

Chat had already started to pick her up bridal style the second her eyes blew wide looking at something over his shoulder, so he was able to scoop her into his arms and leap away before the Gamer could hit them both with a deletion beam.

"Maybe talking should wait until after there's not an akuma trying to kill us," Chat said.

"Good plan," Marinette agreed breathlessly.

Several narrow escapes and a timely intervention by Ladybug later, the Gamer was defeated. After the victory ritual with his Lady, Chat looked around for Marinette. She wasn't in the safe place where he'd left her (a secure rooftop), and even though Miraculous Ladybug would have brought her back if she'd been deleted, worry burrowed into his gut and he was suddenly quite anxious about needing to see her alive and well that very second. Just when he was about to resort to yowling her name, she popped up from behind a mailbox near the building he'd left her on.

"Chat Noir?" She stepped out, fidgeting with her hands. "Sorry, didn't mean to worry you. I just saw the ladybug swarm and figured it was safe to come down to ground level now."

"No problem," he laughed in relief. "I should have taken into account that you wouldn't want to be stuck on a roof waiting around for me."

"I got down just fine on my own," she reassured him with a smirk. "Fire escapes are _miraculous_ inventions, don't you think?"

"Was that a pun, Princess?"

"It might have been. Don't get used to it," she warned teasingly.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

She pursed her mouth thoughtfully, but gave him permission. "Go ahead."

"You can talk to me so casually, with jokes and stuff, unlike most civilians I've spoken with. Why did you pretend to be a starry-eyed fangirl when we first met?"

She fidgeted with her hands. "Um, I just thought you'd like that, you know? Me being all wonderstruck. I think you're a pretty cool hero, for real, and I just played it up a bit so you'd know it. Plus, the flexing was a bit overkill, even for you."

"Thank you, but I like this better," he said, gesturing between them. "You being funny and treating me like a normal person. Besides, if I didn't show off for you, who would get to see my cool backflips and hear my astounding pick-up lines?"

She laughed doubled over at that and his heart fluttered. "So you really don't put on a show like that for every girl you save?" she giggled.

"No, just you," he told her sincerely.

She blushed a pretty pink, gaze darting to the side. "Well, then. Um, were you serious earlier?"

He cocked his head at her. "About what?"

"About coming over and just chilling at my house," she replied. "Is that really something you'd want to do?"

"Yes!" he assured her enthusiastically, tail flicking in excitement. "I meant every word."

"Oh," she coughed, shuffling her feet. "Then would you maybe like to- I don't know- come over on Friday night? I was planning on watching a movie or two after I finished my homework, and I wouldn't mind the company if you wanted to come."

"Really?" he purred, ears perking up. "I mean, yes, I would love that."

"Bring your favorite film and be on my balcony at seven. My parents will make the snacks."

He bowed over her hand and kissed it, smiling so wide his face hurt. "See you then, Princess."

"See you then, Chat!" she called as he leapt away.

It hit her then that she'd agreed to movie night with her superhero partner as a civilian- hell, she'd suggested it first. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, but he'd just looked so sweet and vulnerable when he'd said he liked her treating him like a regular person. He'd perked up when she reached for him and just lit up at any attention. He seemed like he needed a friend.

She felt guilty for making fun of him that day. She hadn't known that he saw and that it hurt his feelings so much. One movie night was the least she could do to make it up to him. After all, what's the most that could come of it? She was sure he'd get bored and move on eventually. In fact, it was probably only a one time thing... right?

Seventeen movie nights later, Marinette realized that she was in too deep, but glancing sideways at Chat- absorbed in the film of the week with open-mouthed interest- she smiled softly and realized that she didn't exactly mind it.


End file.
